Careers

Do you want to change the world?

We are looking for problem solvers, inventors, collaborators, optimists, and people who enjoy getting their hands dirty!

CTI is inventing at a rapid pace and we need people who want to put their fingerprints on changing the world. We improve lives by inventing chemistry that alerts, protects and surprises. We’ve figured out how to keep food safe, help kids learn, prevent counterfeiting, and even alert consumers to a beer or milk that isn’t chilled enough. CTI needs a high-performing team that includes chemists, inventors, manufacturing personnel, sales people and quality specialists.

We seek people who raise their hand and say, “I think I can make this better!” or “I have an idea. Let me work with the team to make it happen!”

Just some of our benefits are:

A comprehensive healthcare program with competitive rates

Life insurance and financial investment packages

Generous bonuses for outstanding performance for hourly and salaried employees

Competitive pay and paid time off

Engaging employee development programs

And much more!

CTI is a manufacturer based at the foot of Pikes Peak in beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado, but does business all over the world with billion-dollar brands.

Come join us to create and execute tomorrow’s biggest ideas!

PreventFraud

OVERT APPLICATION

Body-heat activated coatings - A low-cost solution to preventing fraud is to use body-heat activated inks. Use on product tags, important documents, identification, etc. When the ink is touched it will disappear proving the authenticity of the document.

COVERT APPLICATION

Optical brighteners - Black light security signatures can be added to any document. The hidden security feature only appears when placed under a black light.

ONE-OF-A-KIND HIGH SECURITY APPLICATION

photo tag - On highly sensitive items photo-tag can be used to prevent fraud. A unique scanner easily identifies if an item is authentic. The scanner uses lasers to detect the photo tag particles and if the particles are present the scanner will display a green check mark. If no particles are detected a red X will appear.

This is a new technology that is exclusive to CTI.

DriveSocialMedia

TRIGGER A CONVERSATION

CTI’s proprietary “reveal inks” reveal a “snap tag” after consumption. Consumers use their smartphones to access social media, great deals, concert information, or product details.

The fun part is the user can't use the snap-tag or engage in the hidden message until after consumption.

PLAY GAMES

Use “Reveal Inks” to share trivia or play games. As consumers drink the beverage the answers to trivia games are revealed. This allows for a group of people to interact with a product while enjoying the beverage.

ENTER SWEEPSTAKES

Reveal inks are a great way to share sweepstakes and text-to-win codes AFTER consumption. The plus is that it ensures the consumer can only enter to win AFTER the product has been purchased and enjoyed.

HAVING FUN

Partner with CTI to create interactive games for children. CTI can help encourage kids to use their hands and imagination to learn and create.

EXAMPLE:

Using reveal inks you can create reusable and mess free game boards. To use this Tic-Tac-Toe game, place the board in the refrigerator for a few seconds and then use your finger to play. To begin a new game, simply place the game board back into the refrigerator.

KeepPeopleSafe

FOOD SAFETY AWARENESS

Consumers are demanding improved food safety, especially at home! CTI invented special “return to fridge” alerts when a product has been left too long outside the refrigerator. (CDC estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans – or 48 million people – get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases.)

ALERTING THE CONSUMER

Remind consumers when they need to apply sunscreen. Consumers often forget to reapply their sunscreen when having a fun day at the beach, by using sun-activated inks, an “Alert” appears in the sun reminding the consumer to re-apply.

ALERT TO PERFECT SERVING TEMPERATURE

Sometimes “too cold” or “too hot” is bad. Dial in the perfect serving temperature and create a great experience for your consumers. Temperature-activated inks can alert consumers when a product is the perfect serving temperature either hot or cold.

DrivePurchase

VALUE-ADDED FEATURES

CTI can add value to your brand. CTI helps consumers understand how much energy is left in their batteries, confirm their pizza is hot and encourage kids to create art. The possibilities are endless. Use CTI’s Discovery and Innovation Incubator process to invent the right solution for you.

DURACELL:

Duracell batteries use heat-activated inks to create the power-level indicator on their batteries. This value-added feature allows the consumer to know how much power is left in their battery.

HIGH-IMPACT PROMOTIONAL GRAPHICS

CTI’s design team helps create the right promotional idea that will drive retail purchases, enhance displays and encourage impulse purchases. CTI conducts consumer research to help demonstrate how your brand can use technology to drive purchases.

Mountain Dew:

Mountain Dew used cold-activated inks to highlight the release of the major blockbuster hit, The Dark Knight Rises. The design featured the Batman symbol turning green when cold, enhancing the consumer’s experience.

PRODUCT DEMONSTRATION

Use CTI to create on-package demonstrations to show before and after use. Any product that solves a problem or makes something better is an excellent candidate. Once the consumer touches the package on the shelf, the potential for purchase increases dramatically.

EXAMPLE:

For laundry detergent you can give the example of a dirty sock and with touch-activated ink you can demonstrate the cleaning or scrubbing power of the product. When the sock is rubbed it magically appears bright and white!

EnsureCold

COLD INDICATOR

Guarantee your beverage is cold! CTI is the world’s largest supplier of thermochromic, temperature-sensitive inks.

COORS LIGHT:

Maybe the most well-known application of a cold indicator uses cold-activated inks to enhance their message of “Beer as Cold as the Rockies.” With the two temperature indicators, Coors Light drinkers know when their beer is the perfect temperature for refreshment.

CULTURAL INFLUENCE

Use CTI to help differentiate a brand in a competitive market. Temperature-sensitive inks are an excellent way to bring impact to important design elements on a package. By doing this it can make a product more memorable or fun for the consumer.

TUACA LIQUEUR:

Tuaca uses cold-activated ink on their label to bring emphasis to the intricate artwork on their label. World famous tattoo artist Corey Miller created the artwork, and the cold-activated ink highlighted the message “Get Inked!”

PRODUCT ENHANCEMENT

Add appetite appeal and intrigue to your package using proprietary chemistry from CTI.

COCA-COLA:

Coca-Cola used cold-activated inks to ensure cold on their summer-time 16oz. promotional can.

PENS – CTI offers heat activated pens in five colors. The pens write in one color and then turn to another color when exposed to heat such as: breath, rubbing, hot window or blow dryer.

CustomerNeeds

CTI is focused on “Customer Needs Platforms” – CTI doesn’t think of its business in terms of “thermo- or photo-chromic inks,” but rather on developing solutions for targeted “needs platforms.” Instead of thinking, “What ink do we sell?” CTI focuses on, “What problem do we solve?”

CTI got its start providing a “Rocky Mountain cold refreshment guarantee,” ensuring that when the mountains on a Coors Light can are blue, the beer is as cold as the Rockies. CTI now knows more about what consumers think about cold beverages than any other supplier.

HISTORY

Lyle Small, a Cornell University chemistry student, founded Chromatic Technologies, Inc. (CTI) in his dorm room in 1993, building ink molecules, trying to find different stimuli to turn inks “on and off” – also known as “smart inks.”

Today, CTI is located in Colorado Springs, CO, helping customers across the globe and industries. Its innovation is fueled by Ph.D. chemists, artists, inventors and consumer researchers all working together to invent “Ideas Powered by Chemistry.”

CTI is “not just an ink company” but an “innovator who helps grow and differentiate brands.”

The key essence that differentiates CTI is its focus on “Improving lives through chemistry that alerts, protects and surprises.”

THE CTI ADVANTAGES

DISCOVERY – It all starts with listening and understanding the customer and their consumer. Before CTI starts any work or sells any idea, it spends time understanding customer needs. The purpose is to solve real problems by asking good questions.

PROPRIETARY CHEMISTRY – CTI’s Ph.D.‘s innovate EXCLUSIVELY on creating and perfecting chemistry that alerts, protects and surprises. Much of our technology is unique to CTI.

COMMERCIAL LEADERSHIP – CTI sales and marketing teams are led by former Fortune 500 consumer products and innovation leaders. The team brings real-life, consumer perspective to customers.

DESIGN TEAM – CTI’s in-house design team is focused on bringing ideas to clients rather than just technology. The creative team provides customers with elegant designs and ready-to-execute ideas to speed implementation.

INSIGHT - If a customer wants a big idea, it starts with a terrific insight. CTI is committed itself to knowing more than anyone about consumer needs and opportunities in the area of sensing, alerting and surprising through chemistry, inks and coatings. CTI is constantly conducting consumer research.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT – Ph.D. chemists are available to solve tough technical problems to help create competitive advantages for select customers.

CTIProducts

CTI is not “just an ink company” but an “innovator who helps grow and differentiate brands.” The key essence of CTI is its commitment to “Improving lives through chemistry that alerts, protects and surprises.”

This is new thermochromic metal decorating technology that is designed for high-speed can printing lines (2000 cans per minute). “High Velocity Ink” is the most powerful thermochromic can ink in the world. It runs efficiently with less waste and brighter colors.

Another breakthrough from CTI is the invention of photochromic inks for cans. These cans change from clear to the selected color (multiple colors are available). The ink changes when exposed to sunlight and then changes back to original clear when removed from sunlight (takes a few minutes).

True Innovators

CTI (Chromatic Technologies) is dedicated to improving lives through chemistry that alerts, protects and surprises. We seek to use that core competency to help companies innovate to grow and differentiate their brands.

CTI is best known as a specialty ink innovator for cans. In addition to being the world’s largest manufacturer of thermochromic inks, CTI chemistry also powers photochromic, black light, glow-in-the dark, reveal inks (reveals message after consumption), social media activation, security protection and hybrid thermo/photochromic solutions.

Our innovation teams are coming up with tomorrow’s big ideas for packaging, helping kids learn, stopping counterfeiting, keeping people safe and driving purchase at retail. The “Futurescape Team” is also inventing new methods for bacteria detection and cancer treatment.

Contact us if you’re interested in applying for a custom innovation incubator,.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)